If you live in Arizona, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Kansas, or North Carolina and have never experienced the particular joy of a Buc-ee’s pit stop — the spotless restrooms, the wall-to-wall beaver merchandise, the brisket at the food counter, the fuel stations that could fill a small city — your wait is almost over.
The Texas-based travel plaza chain is in the middle of one of the most ambitious expansions in its history, with plans to open its first locations in six new states by the end of 2027, stretching its reach from 12 states to 20.
Two states are getting their first taste of Buc-ee’s before the year is out.
Arizona moves first. The state’s inaugural Buc-ee’s location is scheduled to open in Goodyear on June 22, positioned near Interstate 10 and Bullard Avenue. The travel center will cover 74,000 square feet and offer 120 fueling positions — a scale that reflects the brand’s signature go-big philosophy.
Arkansas follows later in the summer. The state’s first location is planned for Benton, at the northwest corner of I-30 and State Highway 299, with a grand opening targeted for early to mid-August.
“We’re happy to announce that it looks to be early to mid-August that the grand opening will take place,” said Bill Eldridge, chairman of the City of Benton Advertising and Promotion Commission, in comments to local outlet KATV.
The 2027 Wave
Four more states are on deck for the following year — each receiving its first Buc-ee’s as part of a coordinated expansion push into new regional markets.
Wisconsin will welcome its first location in Oak Creek, at the southwest corner of I-94 and Elm Road, targeting an early 2027 opening. The facility will cover 73,370 square feet and include 120 gas pumps — a layout consistent with Buc-ee’s newer flagship builds.
Louisiana is getting two entries in the expansion: Ruston is targeting a mid-2027 opening at I-20 and Tarbutton Road, with a footprint of more than 70,000 square feet and over 100 fuel pumps. A second Louisiana location in Lafayette is also in the pipeline for existing-state expansion.
Kansas will see its first Buc-ee’s open in Kansas City near I-70 and West Village Parkway — a 74,000-square-foot facility expected sometime in 2027.
North Carolina rounds out the new-state openings, with Mebane set to receive the state’s first location in the fourth quarter of 2027, marking the chain’s continued push into the broader Southeast.
Existing States Are Growing Too
The six new-state openings are the headline, but they are not the full picture of how aggressively Buc-ee’s is expanding.
Texas — home base and still the chain’s largest single-state presence — will open its 37th location in San Marcos in July, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
A substantial list of additional locations is also planned in states where Buc-ee’s already operates. Coming soon: Monroe County, Georgia; Lafayette, Louisiana; St. Lucie and Tallahassee, Florida; Gallaway, Tennessee; and Fayette County, Arkansas.
Oak Grove, Kentucky, is also expecting a location in 2027 or later, while West Memphis, Arkansas, has been pushed to June 2028.
What Makes Buc-ee’s Different
For anyone who has never visited, the chain is genuinely difficult to describe in conventional terms. A Buc-ee’s travel plaza is not a gas station that happens to sell snacks — it is an event. The facilities are enormous, the restrooms are famously immaculate, the food selection ranges from fresh brisket to fudge to an entire wall of branded merchandise built around a cartoon beaver named Buc-ee.
The company currently operates 55 locations across 12 states, with each new opening drawing significant regional attention and frequently generating traffic that stretches well beyond what local roads were designed to accommodate.
With the expansion now moving the chain into 20 states, the reach of the brand — and the particular experience it delivers — is about to become significantly less of a Texas-exclusive phenomenon.
Buc-ee’s has spent decades building a reputation as the gold standard of the American road trip stop — a place people go out of their way to visit, not just a place they pull into because they are running low on fuel. The expansion into six new states over the next two years is a bet that what works in Texas works everywhere. For the residents of Goodyear, Benton, Oak Creek, Ruston, Kansas City, and Mebane, the chance to find out for themselves is coming sooner than they might have expected.
